The Minister of Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources, Sanja Bozinovska, participated in the plenary session "The Resource Race: Who Controls the Green Future" within the Astana International Forum 2025, where she emphasized that critical minerals are becoming a key factor in global energy and security policy.
The session dedicated to the global race for critical minerals and rare earth elements, which are essential for the energy transition and the development of green technologies, opened a discussion on the geopolitical implications of the new phase of resource competition, with an emphasis on access to raw materials, risks in supply chains, resource nationalism, as well as new innovations in recycling.
“The transition to renewable energy sources and green technologies is causing unprecedented demand for critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, copper, graphite. These resources, in addition to being important industrial raw materials – they are strategic tools that shape the new world order”, Bozinovska said.
Session moderator Eric Rudenschiold, research director and senior fellow at the Caspian Policy Center, emphasized that resource-rich countries and their visions in this new era will play a key role in shaping the new world.
Minister Bozinovska shared Macedonia’s perspectives on the role of smaller countries in the new map of global energy interests, with an emphasis on sustainable resource use, regional cooperation, and commitment to environmental standards and good governance.
She pointed out that the global concentration of processing of critical minerals in a few countries poses a serious risk to energy security.
“At a time when the world is striving for decarbonization, we must not allow a new form of dependence – this time not on fossil fuels, but on minerals under geopolitical control,” the minister emphasized.
Bozinovska stressed that Macedonia has the potential to become part of the solution through sustainable use of its own mineral resources and development of processing and storage capacities. She pointed to the new Energy law, which stipulates that all new energy capacities must include battery storage systems of at least 20% of the installed capacity, as a step towards increasing grid flexibility and better integration of variable energy sources.
“Our goal is to build an energy system that is resilient, sustainable and independent. This means not only investments in renewable sources, but also in storage technologies, recycling and responsible management of mineral resources,” she added.
The Minister concluded that balancing economic interests, environmental protection and social justice is key to a successful energy transition. She called for international cooperation and diversification of supply chains for critical minerals, in order to ensure a stable and just green future for all.
The Minister’s participation is part of the strategy to intensify Macedonia’s international partnerships in the context of the global energy and mineral transition.
With regards,
Ministry of Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources
